Infants, small children, physically disabled adults and seniors are especially susceptible to banging their heads on hard surfaces due to falls or slips while conducting daily, routine activities. The typical infant or small child will sustain multiple falls on hard surfaces before it can learn to sit, crawl or walk. For example, infants often crawl beneath chairs and tables. While underneath these items, the child will bang her head when attempting to stand up or lift her head. While the resulting injuries are not life threatening, they cause swelling and bruising about the head. Moreover, the bang or bump to the head is quite traumatic, causing the child to cry or become agitated.
Small children capable of walking or running are particularly vulnerable to falls against table corners, walls and other hard, pointed surfaces. In some instances, serious head injuries can result when a child bangs his or her head against any of these items. Indeed, head trauma is a common accident in childhood. It has been reported that such accidents account for 600,000 emergency room visits per year in the U.S. Most cases of pediatric head trauma do not require intervention or result in negative sequelae. However, in developed countries, brain injury remains one of the most common causes of death and disability in childhood. Further, children or adults who are disabled, developmentally delayed or who suffer from neuro motor or muscular/skeletal impairments often have difficulty standing and/or walking independently, or accomplishing everyday activities. Such individuals are also susceptible to head injuries due to falls or slips.
Much of the protective headgear currently available for infants, children and adults is neither fashionable, comfortable nor effective. Many are usually bulky and restrictive. Also, most of the current protective headgear is not enjoyable to wear, nor is it designed for use in the house during daily activities such as walking, playing, crawling, or learning to walk, nor are they designed for daily, non-sport activities such as playing in a playground. Much of the protective headgear is designed for outdoor athletic or sport activities, such as soccer, baseball and other contact sports, and is not suitable for everyday wear.
The present invention overcomes the problems of currently available protective headgear by providing a head protector that is attractive, comfortable and effectively provides an infant, child or adult head protection for extended periods of time in a fun, enjoyable manner. The present invention may be worn daily by an individual during ordinary indoor or outdoor activities, including but not limited to, crawling, walking, playing (e.g., playing in a playground), non sport activities, and other activities. The present invention is particularly suitable in any non-sport environment.
The present invention may also be suitable for senior citizens. Many seniors fear falling while conducting daily, routine activities. The protective hat of the present invention may be utilized by seniors to reduce the risk of head injury during a fall and to alleviate the fear of falling while they conduct daily activities.
The present invention may also be adapted to protect an individual from self mutilation injuries to the head. For example, it is known that some autistic children are prone to self mutilation activities such as head banging. Some children with Attention Deficit Disorder are more prone to accidents and injuries due to impulsivity and thus require more protection from falls and bangs against hard objects.